>> investigators are trying to determine if speed played a role in a deadly train crash in new york city. four people were killed and dozens injured when the train went off the rails on a sharp curve. >> thousands of demonstrators are camped out in key ive a day after demonstrations took a terrible turn. >> the white house says healthcare.gov is running smoothly. now it faces a new test - a rush to sign up before this month's deadline. >> blast off - china's first

mission to the moon. the jade rabbit gets ready to explore. >> welcome to al jazeera america. thank you so much for joining us. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. >> crews are working to clear the scene of a fatal train derailment in new york city. a southbound commuter train went off the tracks in the bronx as it headed into manhattan. at least four are dead. 63 more were injured much had those 11 are in critical continue. al jazeera's kilmeny duchardt has more from the bronx. >> firefighters, police, crews and the m.t.s.b. continue to work through the night, checking the tracks, cars, mechanical equipment, to try to figure out

what went wrong. >> the halliday weekend ended in tragedy and chaos for those on board this train in northern new york city. the crash happened sunday morning. >> we have recovered the event recorder. we have downloaded the data. we've not had a chance to analyse or verify it. >> officials say the train carried about 150 passengers, heading to new york's grand central terminal. >>. >> they were screaming, asking for their families. >> it derailed on a curved section near the spuyten duyvil station. the injured were rushed to hospital. >> the injuries were consistent with broken bones, fractures, laceration, head trauma - injuries of that sort. >> luz mendez was jogging by when she and others heard the

crash. >> we hiked down that way. it looked like two popped up in an upright position, off the track. it looked like they skidded it along the - all the rocks and gravel because there was a tonne of rocks and gravel. >> city police commissioner and new york governor andrew cuomo and officials from the federal national transportation safety board joined first responders on the scene. >> it's most unfortunate that this comes during the holiday season. i think it's a reminder to all of us that life is a precious gift, take every day as exactly that. as a gift. because every day is precious. >> officials say investigators will be looking at a number of factors, including the train, the track, the signal system and the speed of the train. the m.t.s.b. said their investigation could take from a week to 10 days. after that the mta will step in and begin repairs.

they are telling commuters to find their own ways of transportation, but will offer shuttle buses. south of the accident, right here, trains will be running. >> the metro north commuter line is more than 30 years old and is part of the new york's metropolitan transportation authority and carries more than 82 million a year, making it the busiest in the country. the mta is a system of subway, buses and commuter trains. the deadliest crash was in 1918 when a subway driver lost control in brook line, 98 were killed. the last time passengers were killed was 1991 - five died and 200 injured when a train derailed in manhattan. the driver was drunk and committed of manslaughter. sunday's accident is the second metro north derailment in

six months, a train went off the tracks in bridge port connecticut and hit by another train. 75 were injured. >> thousands of protesters are camped out in ukraine's independence square. it was after the president refused to back a trade deal with the european union. police pushed protesters out, beating anyone that refused to leave - include youing journalists. barnaby phillips reports. >> a calmer atmosphere in kiev. a small, determined crowd in independence square. they say they are not going anywhere. . coming week will be important. big challenges for the opposition. can it find a coherent leadership. if it calls a strike, what following will the strike have. can they keep the momentum upafter sunday's protest. big challenges for viktor yanukovych. does he try to crush the

movement by calling a state of emergency, bringing the police out, using the army. or does he try and placate the movement, try to be more conceal atary. it will not be easy. if you spoke to the contesters on the treats, they were not just talking about the country being closer to the european union, they were talking about a revolution in the ukraine and saying they would stop for nothing less. >> egyptian police on sunday used tear gas to clear dozens of demonstrators. the activists set fire to a police car because students are angry about the death of an engineering student. riots also erupted in tahir square between police and backers of mohamed morsi. it was the largest gathering there in months. there has been fewer demonstrations since new restrictions on protests were passed a week ago.

meanwhile protesters are calling for a general strike in thailand as they occupy buildings. four have decide as the country enters the 9th day of demonstrations. the protesters set sunday as victory day. and are calling for prime minister yingluck shinawatra to resign. >> the obama administration says that for the most part of the healthcare.gov website is, in fact, working. the man in charge of fixing the website says more than 400 changes have been made. >> over the last five weeks we made substantial progress, working through it. we have executed software fixes and hardware upgrades. the site is stable, and operating at its intended capacity with improved performance. >> even despite the overhaul, there are questions about the

website. republican congressman says the improvements are not good enough. >> the security of this site, and the private information does not meet the minimal standards of the private sector, and that concerns me. i don't care if you are for or against it. we should not tolerate the level of incompetence securing the site. >> officials say that 800,000 people will be able to shop for insurance each day. they do admit that there's still much more work ahead, which does include fixing hundreds of software bugs. >> we've had rain in the mountain passes to the west. most of it is the start of a big storm. it's changing over. we are seeing freezing drizzle and rain, and snow coming down to the 4,000 foot level around

idaho, into the continental divide, montana. this is the pass before sunset. we are going to see a continuation of this pattern, the heavy snow in the mountains expect that in the south washington and the cascades, across idaho, montana, new mexico. look at the know around the canadian boarder. it will impact minnesota, working into the middle of this week. this is a big storm moving into the west. it's right now pushing moisture. the rain - we have a little bit of a shadow. the city of seattle made the state dry. areas to the north and south and the mountains have been getting a lot of rain. this is resulting in winter storm watches put up for the amount of moisture coming over the cold air. beware, it's winter driving, have chains in the car, be ready for delays.

it's an expect anything situation from the storm. it's bringing icy roads across montana and north dakota. we have the flood warning in place. hard-freeze warnings for northern california, and all the wind warnings going up for gusts of 50-60 miles per hour. we have gusts of 30-40 miles per hour, that will continue and stretch across wyoming. through the middle to the end of the week, that's when we'll see the impact for north dakota with the snow coming in. looking closer, you can see the cold air, the puffy cumulus clouds that looks like popcorn. that's some arctic area dropping this. it's coming out of canada. we may not, after all, get snow in western washington. monitor that. be ready for it. seahawks could she a little snow in the air. now it's looking a little less

likely. we are starting out cool in the morning. the cool temperatures will feel like high, and colder tuesday. >> vice president joe biden heading to japan, hoping to diffuse tensions between that country and china. how it could affect both nations. >> growing concerns about h.i.v. new numbers raising red flags. >> breaking new ground - or should i say space. china hopes to become a leader in space exploration.

>> vice president joe biden will arrive in japan on monday in what many are calling a crucial tip - easing tensions between japan and china over disputed territories in the china sea. >> they look like an army.

they act like an army. but they are not a real army. these troops are from japan's self-defence force on training exercise earlier this year. under japan's constitution, they can only fire to defend themselves. with japan's larger neighbour china asserting itself internationally. questions are asked whether japan should rethink the role of its armed force, and china's declaration of a self-defence zone over the china sea is making the discussion urgent. >> japan's hawkish prime minister shinzo aba has been pushing to change the constitution. guidelines will be introduced in december. and a council will meet for the first time before joe biden's visit. some hope it will herald a new stage in japan's relationship in

the u.s., especially since china's announcement of the air defense zone. >> translation: the united states took firm action. this incident could make our relationship closer, and may establish the relationship fit for true allies. >> the timing of joe biden's vist couldn't have come at a bester time. some say china is forcing a major transition in the area. >> translation: until recently china didn't challenge the status quo. china has begun to challenge the regional order. the problems in the eastern south china seas are such examples. >> a challenge for shinzo abbe and joe biden is how to play their hand as mixed signals are given out. china said japan was the target

of the new zone. they said it is neither a no fly zone nor territorial air space. can joe biden discover the real reasons behind the power play. only a gambling man would lay money on what china is thinking. >> the vice president next stop will be china, and he heads to south korea. >> the 85-year-old american war veteran held in north korea is in good condition - that's according to a swedish diplomat who visited him. merrill newman was taken captive more tan a month ago as he was about to take off on his plane after a tourist visit. authorities say they are holding him to investigate war crimes. he was shown on north korean television, reading what korean officials said was an apology.

the u.s. is calling for his release. >> pope francis is urging catholics to pray for those with aids. the pontiff addressed a crowd at st peter's square, which is world aids day. >> for 30 years peter has been living with h.i.v. >> i'm used to it. >> his prognosis is good. >> h.i.v. is not a death sentence, but a life innocence. we have it for life and concern ourselves with living, not dying. >> the autolook was bleaker in the "80, in 1981 magic johnson announced he was h.i.v. positive. many assumed it would kill him. he's going strong today. >> now when a person is diagnosed with h.i.v. access to health care, housing

and good nutrition, they can live a near-normal life span. >> a million americans are infected. diagnosing and treating infections early can control the virus. >> these days there's a test that can be brought at the pharmacy and be used at home. >> advocates hope it will reach 20,000 americans that don't know that they are infected. >> despite advancing like these challengeses remain. >> h.i.v. is disproportionally affected. socially marginalised. that continues today to include gay men of all races. women of colour, transgender women. >> there are troubling numbers. more men are having unprotected sex with other men, raising concerns about spreading h.i.v. blacks make up half the americans living with h.i.v. his panics, one in five.

>> bobby says he contracted the virus by abusing drugs and sharing dirty needles. he says getting treatment was tough at first, because he was homeless. >> it was hard to worry about going to a doctor when you had to worry about whether your food was going to be eaten by a mouse when you were away. >> now he's volunteering at the sector, offering syringes to people with h.i.v. or at the risk of getting it. >> living with the virus is no longer necessarily a war for survival, it's a battle he wants to help others fight. >> aids is one of the most destructive pandemics in history, killing 25 million worldwide since 1981. china is aiming for the high ground, launching a mission to the moon. the probe is expected to make a soft lunar landing in two weeks.

>> named after an ain comment chinese moon god es, china hopes to land the "chang'e 3" probe at an air named the bay of rainbows. it plans to activate the rover, yutu or jade rabbit. it's hoped it will spend three months exploring the surface. >> the three objectives are to engine to soft land a craft on the moon. and to control and communicate with the craft during the mission. on board, a vast collection of cameras. telescopes that scientists will use. another will look at how solar radiation affects earth. >> translation: we can receive information about the rover's working conditions. we can receive image data. that is to say information about the surrounding environment gathered from taking images.

we use this information to send orders to control its function. >> in the 1970, the soviet became the first country to put a remote control robot on the mood. it was followed by "apollo 15 ," used to move astronauts and equipment. >> china's rover is fitted with scientific instruments. it has a ground radar to examine up to 100 metres. china is looking at the mineral resources on the moon. in 2017 china wants to bring back a rock sample from the moon. manned missions could follow in 2025. for now its mission is to get "chang'e 3" to the moon and on to the surface. >> this is china's first moon mission, but the space program is not new. it launched its first satellite

in 1970. in 2003 it launched the first of five manned space missions. >> double digit drop. black friday retailers got off to a pretty bumpy start. >> bringing back the business of booze. the bet that some make on detroit with the first distillery in decades. finding strength after tragedy. the meeting place helping colorado residents move forward from the floods that changed their lives.

>> the popularity of locally brewed liquor is growing. a distillery in detroit is the city's first in nearly 100 years. >> two james spirits, a distillery located in detroit is a company in the business of

making liquor. gin, vodka and whiskey is the specialty. this is the first time liquor has been made here since prohibition. once a law was made in 2008 it opened the door for entrepreneurs like andrew lloyd. >> getting back to the roots with whiskey, other spirits u >> when two james distillery was established, the owners considered locations across the country. they say detroit stood apart from the rest. >> there's an energy within the city, with people moving down, new businesses. i think we put the factors together. it was the right place. >> they invested a million dollars into the country, turning the taxi warehouse into

a craft liquor brewing location. from ingredients to packaging - everything is local. economists estimate the distillery business has the potential to boost the state economy by hundreds of millions of dollars. like many new businesses coming to detroit, the financial issues didn't deter them setting up shop. where some sees obstacle, the ceo sees opportunity. >> this might diversify agriculture in michigan as we grow collectively. >> the investment in a neighbourhood on a rebound is welcomed by many who live here. they are on pace to produce 3,000 cases of premium liquor this year. in a warehouse where the aroma is intoxicating, these entrepreneurs see a future where the glass is always at least half full.

>> holiday shopping gets a boost. u.s. shoppers spend nearly $10 billion on black friday, down 13% on last year. sales rose 2.3% overall compared to 2012 once thanksgiving day sales were added to the mi.. >> colorado communities are banding together to recover from the devastating flood in september. jamestown was nearly destroyed. we look at how residents are bouncing back. >> the music is back. with it the people are slowing returning to the foothills down in the rocky mountains. >> on saturday nights, since the september flood displaced residents gathered at the jamestown mercantile, the meeting place for the past 100 years. >> once you come in and the music is playing and you see your friends, for a few hours it's back to what we had.

it's a huge comfort. >> i'm cooking tonight. >> many are now scattered across colorado, forced to live in other communities because properties were destroyed. they come back to jamestown, travelling over flood-ravaged roads once a week to share stories. losing the house was a shock. >> more than 13 inches of rain turns the creek into a monster. the flooding haunts the hills. chad's home is a loss. >> i was here for the - until the floodwaters started to come down the street. >> this will give you an example of the damage here. see the foundation over there, that was a home on the other side of the creek. that will never be rebuilt. this entire community is determined to come back. >> for those who plan to rebuild, it will be a herculean effort. a fifth of the town's homes and buildings were lost.

it literally destroyed this town. our community was not scratched. >> some rebuilding is under way. it will take month, if not years and millions in federal relief for jamestown to recover. >> this is what we do, come in, move this, clear this. >> one person here was lost in the storm. 72-year-old joey died when the floodwaters crashed into his home. >> if you needed anything, joey was there. >> today his spirit lives on, with friends and family who celebrate his life, knowing he would be the first to pitch in to help rebuild. >> it will take a while until it looks beautiful again. but our community never stopped for a minute. >> today only 20 of the 300 residents of this town j returned. that number is expected to grow to 70 by the end of the year. >> and that will do it for this edition of al jazeera news.

i'm morgan radford, thank you for watching. >> hello, you're at the listening "post." this week, the nuclear deal with tehran and how it's playing out in the media in iran and in the u.s. we speak with geremi scahill about dirty wars. the world's highest paid news photographer. a jury in new york made sure of that. and don't stop believing. >> you can love harry.